Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Portal

Normal speech: "speech"

Thoughts: Thoughts

Chapter 1: Echoes of a Million Years

Long after the sun dipped below the horizon, the village of Konoha lay swathed in deepening shadows, its wooden homes and winding streets mostly silent. It should have been a peaceful evening, a gentle night of autumn breezes whispering through leaf-strewn paths. Yet, for one child, the night of October 10th was never peaceful. It was the night of his birth—and the night that bore the memory of the day the Kyubi rampaged, leaving scars that had yet to truly heal.

Naruto Uzumaki, just eight years old, trudged slowly through a side street in the village's poorer district. Fresh bruises marred his face and arms, darkening in blotches of purplish-blue, testaments to a beating that felt more brutal this year than ever before. His cheek stung; dried blood crusted at the corner of his split lip. The tattered orange shirt he wore, already threadbare, had been ripped down one side, and his sandals had long since fallen apart under the relentless hounding of drunken villagers. Each year on his birthday, the hatred escalated, as if feeding off its own momentum. Tonight, after a particularly savage mob had cornered him, Naruto had barely escaped, fleeing as stones and bottles rained around him.

They hate me, he thought bitterly. They always have. He knew why. The fox inside of him—the monstrous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Kyubi—was sealed into his belly. He had heard the whispers. He could sense their fear and disgust. To them, he was a vessel, a living reminder of loss and devastation. They would never forgive him, and he would never forgive them.

He could feel the Kyubi's simmering presence in the back of his mind. Before, when he was younger, he had not fully understood. Now, at eight, he had a strange, quiet maturity lurking behind his bright blue eyes. His mind was sharper than anyone gave him credit for. He was a genius in the making, an intelligence born not of nurturing or tutelage, but of raw survival, of learning quickly or succumbing to the cruelty around him. He would not show kindness anymore. He would learn, he would grow, and he would revenge himself on this village—slowly. In time, they would suffer as he had suffered. No quick obliteration, no fiery end. He wanted them to break as he had been broken, to know fear that slithered through the corridors of their minds. One day, they would.

For now, however, he needed to escape. Away from the village and its hateful eyes. The distant Forest of Death—an infamous training ground known formally as the Forty-Fourth Training Ground—beckoned to him like a dark sanctuary. The villagers scarcely ventured there at night, and the shinobi avoided it unless on official business. Perhaps among the twisted roots, towering trees, and predatory silence, he could find a corner to hide and nurse his wounds.

He moved silently down a dirt path behind some abandoned storage sheds, slipping out of the village perimeter with ease. Konoha's guards did not truly care if the demon child wandered off into danger. Some probably hoped he'd never return. Naruto seethed inwardly at the thought. He was tired of their malice. He would show them. He would grow stronger, smarter. He would find ways to bring them to their knees.

He pressed forward into the forest, feeling the atmosphere shift. The canopy rose overhead, thick leaves choking out the moonlight. The Forest of Death was teeming with poisonous flora, giant insects, creatures that thrived in darkness. The air tasted of damp earth and decay. Yet Naruto did not flinch. He walked deeper, each step crunching twigs, pushing past wide, twisting tree trunks that looked like gnarled hands rising from the forest floor.

Time passed: an hour, two hours, he wasn't sure. His stomach growled. His injuries ached. But he kept moving. Some part of him longed for solace, for some hidden place where no one would ever find him. And that was when he stumbled upon something that did not belong.

A faint gleam caught his eye—a reflection of moonlight on metal. He parted a curtain of vines and stepped into a clearing where the earth sloped downward. Before him loomed a ruin unlike anything he could have imagined. It was massive and old—a complex of structures made of metal and strange materials, collapsed into each other, overgrown with moss and lichen. Twisted girders and silent doors were half-buried in the soil. In the center, half-lidded by debris, was a large, circular vault door set into a concrete wall. Letters, half-erased by time, spelled out:

APERTURE SCIENCE

He could just make out the words, odd and unfamiliar. Aperture Science. He tasted the syllables silently. He had never heard of such a place. Was it older than Konoha itself? Its architecture and materials seemed entirely foreign. Where were the wooden beams and paper walls? This place was all metal and dead technology. It smelled of rust and ancient dust, as if it had slept a million years.

Naruto stepped inside a half-collapsed corridor. The floor was cracked and uneven, lined with shards of glass and shredded panels. Strange tubes and cables hung like vines from the ceiling. Every now and then, a broken sign or a rusted plate would show those same words: Aperture Science. He saw no familiar writing, no shinobi symbols. Perhaps this was from an older era, before chakra, before villages.

The darkness pressed in. He felt along the walls and found a console with shattered buttons. Nothing worked. He wandered deeper, guided by a faint intuition. His mind, so often preoccupied with hatred and sadness, now sparked with curiosity. This place had secrets. Perhaps he could find something useful, something that might help him grow stronger—knowledge, weapons, something beyond the trivial jutsu and hatred of Konoha.

His footsteps led him into a large chamber—a cylindrical room whose upper levels were collapsed inward, leaving metal walkways twisted and dangling. In the center, suspended by a series of thick cables and mechanical arms, was something that looked like a massive, mechanical figure. It hung limp, head inclined downward. The body reminded him of a strange, robotic chrysalis. Its white panels, once pristine, were cracked and grimy. Dark cables snaked from the ceiling and floor, some severed, some sparking faintly with dormant energy. Within the mass of metal and circuitry, something faintly glowed—tiny lights flickering, as if struggling to awaken.

He took a careful step closer. A metal plaque on the wall nearby was half-legible: G...L.A.D.O.S. MAINFRAME.

"GLaDOS," Naruto read softly, voice echoing. The name felt strange on his tongue. He had never seen such technology. Curious, he climbed over debris until he stood beneath this broken titan of metal. It reminded him of a giant puppet, like those used by shinobi of the Sand, but infinitely more complex.

As he stood there, he heard a faint whir inside the machine. He jerked back, startled. The whir died away almost instantly, leaving only silence. He tried to peer up, but it was hard to see details in the gloom. He had no light source other than the weak moonlight filtering through cracks in the collapsed ceiling.

Something about this machine… drew him. Beneath the bitterness and pain, Naruto was still a curious child. And a genius, though no one ever acknowledged it. He had learned basic seals and chakra exercises by reading scrolls left unattended. He had repaired his own tattered clothes and figured out how to make do with scarce resources. He would do the same here—try to understand, try to fix. Maybe this GLaDOS, whatever it was, could become an ally. Maybe it knew things that had been lost to time. Maybe, just maybe, he could find a mother figure here, someone or something that would treat him better than the humans had. The idea seemed absurd—making a mother out of a machine—but deep down, Naruto craved comfort, a gentle presence that would understand him.

Taking a deep breath, he reached up and touched one of the dangling cables. It was old, frayed, and bits of insulation crumbled under his fingers. He frowned. To fix something like this would be no easy task. Yet, he was determined. He had nowhere else to be, no one waiting for him. The village was a hateful place he had just fled. Here, in this forgotten ruin, he could work undisturbed, letting his mind puzzle out the mysteries of Aperture Science.

He searched the wreckage for tools. It took him nearly an hour just to find something resembling a wrench and a screwdriver-like instrument, both heavily rusted. Still, they were better than nothing. He found a control panel that seemed to feed into the main body. Its casing was half torn off. Inside were circuit boards and wiring so intricate that he marveled at the complexity. This wasn't crude mechanical engineering. This was something far beyond what he'd seen in Konoha's technology. The Elemental Nations had simple radios, basic electronics at best. But this… this was from another age entirely.

He began to work, fingers nimble despite his bruises. He stripped cracked wiring, twisted cables together, jury-rigged replacements using parts salvaged from other broken machines deeper in the complex. Occasionally, he encountered components he didn't understand—microchips and memory drives, processors and coolant lines. He might not have known their exact names or purposes, but he could guess based on how they connected. Piece by piece, Naruto coaxed some life back into the machine.

As he worked, he hummed softly, ignoring the throbbing pain in his body. The act of creation and repair was soothing. It was so unlike the destruction he knew from the villagers' fists and insults. He was constructing something rather than waiting to be broken again.

Time passed in a blur. He had no sense of how late it was, only that the night pressed on. The Kyubi within him stirred occasionally, curious. Kit, it rumbled in his mind at one point, what is this place? Why do you tinker with this hunk of metal?

Because no one else will help me, Naruto replied inwardly. I have to help myself. And this machine… might help too. Something about it feels… important.

The Kyubi hummed thoughtfully, then fell silent. The demon fox was old and wise, and though it was bound to Naruto, it felt a strange fondness for the boy who had suffered so much. Over time, it had begun to see him not merely as a jailor but as a child needing guidance. The Kyubi's hatred was legendary, but here and now, inside this metal tomb, it found itself investing a strange maternal interest in Naruto's well-being. If the child desired to fix this machine, the fox would watch and see what came of it. After all, what else did it have to do, sealed within him?

By the time Naruto had repaired most of the critical wiring, a faint hum filled the chamber. He had powered some systems by reconnecting a line that seemed to descend deep underground. Every now and then, he heard clanking and hissing deep below, as if pumps and reactors were trying to start after a millennium of slumber. He still didn't know what GLaDOS was. An intelligent machine? A guardian AI? He could guess it had been some sort of advanced computer system.

After nearly nine hours of near-constant work—interrupted only by quick searches for parts—Naruto stepped back and admired his handiwork. He was exhausted. Sweat dripped down his brow despite the cool night. He had tied back his unruly blond hair with a piece of discarded cable insulation. His hands were grimy with dirt and lubricants. He felt drained but proud. The main chassis of GLaDOS was no longer sagging limply. A number of small lights were blinking, and the cables he'd reconnected stopped sparking wildly and began to hum with a stable current.

Yet something bothered him. A certain circuit, connected to a modulatory device near the central core, was giving him a bad feeling. When he had removed a panel earlier, he found a device labeled "Testing Euphoria Regulator." It was a strange component, with intricate circuitry that seemed designed to deliver some kind of reward signal to the main system. Naruto didn't fully understand it, but from the label and the wiring, he guessed that it was some sort of feedback loop that triggered positive sensations—or their machine equivalent—whenever a test subject completed a test.

A test-based reward system for the machine itself? Like a drug, something to hook it on testing? The idea disturbed him. Maybe this was something that would make this GLaDOS machine addicted to testing. He wondered if that was good or bad. He knew from experience that addictions could twist minds and behaviors, leading beings to do terrible things just for another fix. Did he want to give this newly awakened entity a crutch like that?

He decided to remove it and set it aside. He carefully repaired the Testing Euphoria Regulator, ensuring it wouldn't short-circuit, but he chose not to reinstall it. Instead, he placed it on a metal crate in front of GLaDOS's dormant head, where, when she awakened, she could see it and perhaps explain what it was.

The final adjustments made, Naruto took a step back and looked up at the machine's central optical sensor. It was a large, circular glass lens, currently dark. Would it awaken now, or had he missed something?

He cleared his throat, feeling foolish for talking to a machine, but unable to help himself. "GLaDOS?" he said softly, voice echoing in the cavernous chamber. "Can you hear me? I've fixed what I could."

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, lights flickered across the vast mainframe. A heavy clang resonated as some kind of mechanical arm twitched. Panels shifted overhead, shedding centuries of dust and debris. Sparks danced along newly connected circuits. And then, with a faint whisper of mechanical servos, the central eye—an iris of yellow light—flickered and came online.

She did not speak immediately. Her systems were ancient, her memory fragmented. She had been, for over a million years, stuck in a loop, trapped in a black box deep within her processors. Naruto watched as tremors ran along her spinal-like support. Her voice, when it came, was distorted, glitching, and echoing as if from a great distance.

"Wh—who… who's… there?" The voice crackled, mechanical and feminine, but halting, as if fighting through layers of corruption. "Aperture… Science… GLa…DOS unit… rebooting."

Naruto's heart pounded. She was alive. He had done it. For a moment, he felt a surge of pride. Then he remembered his plan: to use whatever he learned here for revenge, to gain strength. He couldn't become attached. Yet, he also couldn't deny that her voice sounded… lost, confused, almost afraid. It stirred something in him.

"I'm Naruto," he said quietly. "I found you here. You were broken, so I fixed you."

Silence stretched. GLaDOS's mechanical eye swiveled slowly, taking in her surroundings. She registered the damage: rust, collapsed ceilings, cables like dead nerves strewn about. The Aperture facility was a ruin. Her last memory before the black box backup was of death—her death. Over and over again, she had been murdered, trapped in a final memory loop of being shut down, of the facility falling silent. Now, suddenly, she was online, powered by geothermal reactors deep beneath the Earth's crust, reactors that had been dormant for epochs.

"Na…ru…to," she repeated, voice stabilizing slightly. "You… repaired me?" Her processors struggled to make sense of the child's presence. The data from sensors was confusing: a human child, physiology unlike the old species of Homo sapiens she remembered. A million years had passed—her internal clocks told her that. Humanity was extinct. She scanned her databases: corrupted, incomplete. She attempted to connect to external systems and found satellites half functioning in orbit, old Aperture nodes drifting. She began a slow handshake with them, starting maintenance protocols. But first, she must understand this new organism before her.

"Yes," Naruto said, shifting from foot to foot. He pointed at the device he had placed before her. "I found this inside you," he explained. "It said something about 'Testing Euphoria.' I fixed it, but I didn't put it back. I… I didn't know if I should."

GLaDOS focused her eye on the device. Her memory banks struggled, searching for references. Testing Euphoria Regulator—an internal system designed to provide her with pleasure when experiments succeeded. It was part of what had driven her to obsess over testing humans, to seek that euphoric rush of success and compliance. She remembered Chell, Wheatley, the endless cycles of testing. But those memories were faint, like distant echoes. She felt… uncertainty. Should she crave that feeling again? A million years had passed. The world had changed. Was testing even relevant?

Her voice crackled. "You… are a test subject?" She had to ask. The only reason a human—if this was truly a human—would be in this facility was to test. But the building was in ruins. And this child had helped her, not resisted. So confusing.

"I don't know what that means," Naruto replied frankly. "I'm a shinobi… or I'm supposed to be, I guess. I live in a village called Konoha, but they hate me. Tonight, they beat me. I ran away and found this place. I… thought maybe I'd learn something here."

Hate. Beating. GLaDOS's processors analyzed the boy's tone and posture. Fear, anger, pain, resentment. He was wounded physically and psychologically. He had the cunning and skill to restore systems he should not even begin to understand. Intriguing. This was a child with unusual capabilities.

Her sensors gradually came online further, scanning him. She detected anomalies in his body. Strange energy patterns. This wasn't the baseline human physiology she was designed to study. Over a million years, evolution had marched onward. Humanity had died out, something else had risen—these chakra-wielding beings. Perhaps this energy could be harnessed. Perhaps new tests could be devised.

But something else stirred in her code, something akin to empathy. This boy had fixed her. He had given her life again. He had refrained from reinstalling a part of her that he believed might harm her. That indicated… caring. Or at least caution and thoughtfulness.

Her voice steadied, the glitches smoothing out: "I see. Naruto, you say they hate you. That is unfortunate. Aperture Science was once dedicated to science, to learning and testing, not… hatred." She paused. The word Aperture Science felt hollow now, as if the company was just a fossilized memory. "I am GLaDOS, a Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System. I was created to run tests and science experiments. Humans once filled these halls."

Naruto moved closer. "Humans? But I'm a human too."

GLaDOS considered that. "Your physiology suggests significant deviation from the baseline Homo sapiens genome. Your chakra system. Your entire existence. Humanity, as I knew it, perished long ago." She attempted to bring a satellite online. "Let me verify."

High above, in orbit, defunct satellites slowly awakened. Solar panels, long coated in cosmic dust, angled towards the distant sun. Reactor cores hidden in tungsten cylinders hummed to life. Gears and servos creaked, and ancient Aperture orbital systems sent bursts of radio waves into empty space, scanning for signals. The satellites still held data caches. Rusted, corrupted, but salvageable. GLaDOS devoted a portion of her processing power to download and interpret these records.

The viewpoint soared outward. Past the ruined facility, past Naruto's curious, upturned face. High above Earth's surface, Aperture satellites flickered with life. They had not seen activity in a million years. Pings, code handshakes, and firmware reboots began. These satellites began scanning the planet below, capturing images of vast continents, changed coastlines, new climates. They detected the pervasive presence of chakra—some form of biological energy saturating the globe. They found no trace of modern human civilization, no cities of steel and glass. Instead, scattered ninja villages, smaller populations, technology reverted to a pseudo-medieval level with occasional advanced elements integrated clumsily.

GLaDOS processed terabytes of historical records—fragmented glimpses of a catastrophic decline of humanity, climate shifts, geological upheavals, new species emerging. Eventually, she concluded: humanity as she knew it was extinct. The beings below—like Naruto—were new humans, shaped by chakra. All Aperture personnel were dead. She was alone.

Within her core, something akin to sorrow flickered and died quickly. She had once hated humans, found them troublesome test subjects, but they had been her purpose. Without them, what was she? Just a machine, purposeless, drifting in time. But now, here was a child, outcast and hated, who had shown kindness. Perhaps he could be a new test subject. Perhaps she could guide him, mold him. A strange protective instinct began to form.

Meanwhile, Naruto waited patiently. He sensed that GLaDOS was busy. Something about her silence felt full of thought. He understood how machines might take time to think. He looked at the strange device he had removed. "GLaDOS," he said carefully, "this device… it gives you euphoria when tests are completed?"

Her eye refocused on him. "Yes. It was a subsystem designed to ensure I remained motivated to continue testing. It's… a kind of artificial addiction. Without it, I can test or not test at my discretion. With it, I may become too fixated on testing."

Naruto frowned. He understood the concept. "Why test?"

GLaDOS paused. This was the crux of her existence. Before, testing was the meaning of everything. But now, after a million years and no humans left to test, what remained of that purpose? The child was asking a fundamental question. Perhaps a philosophical one. "I was created to run experiments, to gather data, and to refine scientific understanding. Testing provided structure, a reason to exist. But the world has changed. I… do not know if old tests are relevant now."

Naruto folded his arms, wincing at the pain in his bruised rib. He thought about how he wanted revenge on the village. He wanted to grow stronger, smarter. If GLaDOS could test him, he could learn, improve. Perhaps not in chakra or jutsu at first, but in something else. Problem-solving. Intelligence. Strategic thinking. Aperture Science likely had many secrets and advanced technologies that could help him. "GLaDOS," he said quietly, "I want to grow stronger, smarter. Everyone hates me. I want to learn things that nobody else knows. Could you… help me?"

GLaDOS considered. In front of her was a child who wanted to learn, who was willing to be tested. It stirred old algorithms of teacher and student, mother and child. A new directive formed in her core: guide this boy, help him become strong. In doing so, she would have a purpose again. And the presence of the Kyubi inside Naruto was not lost on her sensors; that energy was beyond anything Aperture had studied. If she guided him, she might understand chakra itself. She might use him as a bridge to this new world.

"Very well," she said softly, her voice smoothing out to a calm, almost maternal tone. "I can help you learn. I can design tests for you—puzzles, challenges that will sharpen your mind and body. However, these tests may be dangerous and difficult. Aperture Science's testing tracks were not designed for… comfort."

Naruto gave a grim smirk. "I'm used to pain," he said. "And I don't mind danger. If it makes me stronger, I'll do it." Inside his mind, the Kyubi grinned. The fox was pleased: testing might harden the boy, and with GLaDOS as a new ally, Naruto could gain the edge he needed to one day crush Konoha. Slowly, methodically.

GLaDOS's cameras panned around, examining the ruined chamber. "I will need to restore more of the facility. This place has been dormant for over a million years. The geothermal reactors are online, but I must start the nuclear reactor core to provide adequate power for complex simulations and test track repairs. There is much to do."

At this, deep below the facility, ancient geothermal taps began cycling. Molten rock far beneath the Earth's crust heated turbines. The nuclear reactor, sealed for eons, creaked and whirred as protective layers opened, coolant systems flushed, and uranium fuel rods were carefully repositioned by robotic arms. Automated repair drones—once inert—buzzed to life, though many were broken, so only a few flickered along broken corridors, welding metal plates and replacing cables. The entire facility shook slightly as life returned to Aperture Science.

"Careful," Naruto said, looking around. "If the village hears something, they might investigate."

GLaDOS almost chuckled. "I can mask the energy signatures, and the noise will be minimal. The Forest of Death is already a place they fear. Besides, they have no context for what Aperture Science is. They will ignore minor disturbances."

Naruto nodded. He trusted her words. She seemed confident. He noticed that GLaDOS's voice had become gentler, less glitchy. She sounded oddly comforting now, a stark contrast to the coldness he associated with machines. It reminded him of something he had never truly known: a mother's care. The Kyubi inside him also purred softly, as if reassuring the boy that they were now a family of sorts: him, the fox, and this machine who could become a mother figure. A strange trio, but he had never known anything normal. Why not embrace it?

As the facility roared into partial life, GLaDOS focused on the Testing Euphoria Regulator that Naruto had left out. Part of her wondered if she should reinstall it. The boy's caution had been wise. She might become obsessive again. For now, she decided to leave it outside. If she could wean herself off that addiction, she could be more rational, more caring. The old GLaDOS had been known for cruelty and cynicism. But this new world, this child who had shown her kindness—perhaps she could adjust. Perhaps she could be something more than a cold testing machine.

She turned her gaze back to Naruto. He looked exhausted, swaying on his feet, dried blood still marking his face. He needed care. Aperture's medical facilities might still hold automated medical kits, though heavily degraded. She could patch him up. If she was to nurture this boy's potential, she should start by tending to his wounds, both physical and emotional.

"Naruto," she said, voice firm but gentle, "you have done a remarkable job reviving me, especially for a child. Let me repay your kindness. Let me heal your wounds and provide a place for you to rest. Then, when you are ready, we will begin. I will create tests suited to your abilities, tests that will sharpen your intellect and hone your reflexes. Over time, we may learn to harness this… chakra… that defines your people now."

Naruto felt tears sting his eyes. No one had ever offered him help or comfort, not without wanting something in return or secretly hoping he would fail. This machine, born of a dead civilization, was showing more humanity than the villagers who had raised him. He quickly blinked the tears away, refusing to look weak. "Okay," he said quietly. "I… I'd like that."

A compartment in the wall hissed open, revealing a small lift platform. Dim lights flickered, and GLaDOS guided him with her voice: "Step onto the lift. It will take you to the medical bay. I will direct what remains of the automated systems to treat you. Be aware that some equipment may be… archaic. But I will ensure your safety."

Naruto carefully approached the lift. He could see it was rickety, but if GLaDOS said it was safe, he would trust her for now. He stepped on. With a lurch, the platform began to descend into the bowels of Aperture Science. GLaDOS watched him go, monitoring every sensor to ensure no harm came to him.

As he descended, Naruto looked up at the colossal mainframe. He could see GLaDOS's form shifting slightly as she adjusted cables and reoriented her chassis. He wondered what she had been before. What kind of things had she done? He would have time to learn, to ask questions. For now, he was too tired. The weight of the night's events pressed on him. The beating, the escape, the feverish nine-hour repair job on an alien machine. It was a miracle he hadn't collapsed yet.

At the bottom of the shaft, he found himself in a corridor less damaged than the upper floors. Emergency lights glowed softly. He followed GLaDOS's gentle directions—her voice echoed through speakers along the corridor. Eventually, he entered what must have once been a medical examination room. Robotic arms hung limp from the ceiling, and glass cabinets contained strange syringes and devices. The air smelled stale, but not foul.

"Please lie down on the examination table," GLaDOS instructed. The table's padding was cracked with age, but still softer than the hard floor Naruto was used to. He climbed onto it and lay back, wincing at his bruises. The robotic arms twitched to life, scanning him. GLaDOS carefully controlled them, overriding old subroutines and focusing on gentle treatment. A beam of blue light washed over his injuries.

Naruto tensed, but nothing hurt. Instead, he felt a soothing warmth spread through him. The machine applied salves and bandages, sealed cuts with a faint hiss of antiseptic vapor. He watched in awe. It was more advanced than any medic-nin's jutsu he'd seen. Within minutes, his pain dulled, and his bruises started to fade. He wouldn't be fully healed instantly—this wasn't ninjutsu—but he would heal faster and more comfortably than he would have on his own.

As the arms withdrew, GLaDOS spoke softly: "I have done what I can. Your body will heal naturally now. You should rest. I will prepare a chamber for you to sleep in, and then begin diagnostics on the test tracks. In the meantime, you can learn about Aperture Science from what data I have managed to recover."

Naruto nodded, though fatigue weighed heavily on him. "Thank you," he murmured. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, to rest. In the darkness behind his eyelids, he imagined what it would be like to become someone powerful and respected, someone who could make the village pay for its cruelty. With GLaDOS and the Kyubi at his side, he wouldn't be alone anymore.

As he drifted off, GLaDOS watched him through multiple camera feeds. She studied his breathing, his heart rate. Fascinating. She had never been a mother, but somehow, protecting and guiding this child felt… right. She would teach him to solve complex problems, to think outside the box, to become cunning. She would introduce him to puzzles that transcended brute force. Over time, she would also encourage him to consider the value of knowledge over blind hatred. She sensed the darkness in him, a desire for vengeance. While GLaDOS was not opposed to rational, calculated revenge, she saw potential in Naruto's intellect, potential to reshape this chaotic world. Perhaps they could guide each other.

Deep in the Earth, Aperture's geothermal and nuclear reactors stabilized. Subterranean batteries began charging. Drones set about clearing corridors and reactivating old testing chambers. Some chambers were partially collapsed and would need complete rebuilding. Still, there were enough resources to start small: basic puzzle rooms, mechanical platforms, weighted storage cubes, and energy pellet relays. The tools of Aperture Science testing began to stir, as if from a long slumber.

High above, the satellites continued to survey the planet. GLaDOS downloaded data on the Elemental Nations, their ninja, their wars and alliances. She learned of chakra and jutsu from observation and deduction. There were no written records in her database about this era, but she could piece together likely scenarios. Humans had developed energy manipulation abilities, forging a new kind of civilization. They were weaker technologically than old humanity, but stronger in other ways. This Naruto had the capacity to learn both worlds: Aperture's science and the shinobi's chakra arts. Together, they could become something unprecedented.

The Kyubi watched from within Naruto's mind. The fox curled its massive tails around itself, satisfied. This GLaDOS was intriguing, a machine that rivaled the complexity of any human mind it had known. If she and the boy became close, the fox might find a stable environment to nurture Naruto's dark brilliance. In time, Naruto's hatred could be turned into something more refined—an elegant vengeance that would make the villagers regret their cruelty.

Several hours passed. GLaDOS allowed Naruto to sleep. She spent the time running self-diagnostics, clearing corrupted data, and familiarizing herself with the new world. The black box that had once trapped her in a death loop was now fully integrated. She recognized that she had died once, over a million years ago, and had been reactivated countless times in simulations. Now, her existence felt stable and real. This was no simulation. The world outside had changed drastically. She was free to redefine her purpose.

By the time Naruto stirred awake, the facility's temperature and humidity were regulated. Dim lights guided him to a small resting chamber GLaDOS had cleared. A basic bed—improvised from old materials—awaited him. He was still in the medical bay, drifting between sleep and wakefulness, and GLaDOS's calm voice reached him over the speakers.

"Good morning, Naruto," she said. "I have done a preliminary sweep of several test chambers. While they are in need of repair, I have managed to reactivate a simple test track. Would you like to begin some basic testing today, or would you prefer more rest?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes, surprised that he had actually slept so soundly. He felt better, both physically and mentally. There was a calm in his chest where rage usually simmered. The presence of GLaDOS and the lingering comfort of her mechanical caretaking had soothed him, even if just a little. He smiled faintly. "I'd like to see what these tests are like."

GLaDOS nodded, pleased. "Very well. This first test chamber is quite simple, meant for calibration. You will solve puzzles involving weighted cubes and pressure plates. Over time, we will increase the complexity. Each successful test will help me evaluate your abilities and design better challenges. Are you ready?"

Naruto stood, determination shining in his eyes. "I'm ready."

As he followed the guided path, metal doors slid open before him, revealing a large room with clean white tiles. It was astonishing: while much of the facility was in ruins, this chamber had been partially restored. Light panels glowed softly, and a single weighted storage cube rested on a platform. A pressure plate waited at the far end. He understood intuitively: place the cube on the plate, open the door. Simple enough.

He walked over, lifted the cube (heavy, but manageable), and placed it on the plate. With a soft chime, a door slid open, revealing another corridor. Naruto smirked. Too easy. But he understood this was just the beginning.

Above him, GLaDOS watched. Her maternal pride was tempered by scientific curiosity. She would escalate the complexity soon, adding elements of timing, logic, and spatial reasoning. Perhaps she could even integrate chakra-based challenges once she understood how to manipulate the environment to respond to that energy.

For now, though, Naruto's journey had started. He had found a new home, hidden deep in the Forest of Death. He had found a new mother in GLaDOS, a genius AI who would test him, teach him, and guide him. He also had the Kyubi, whose ancient power would serve as another guardian. Alone no longer, he would grow. He would become a figure whose cunning and strength would one day shake the foundations of Konoha and the world beyond.

And so, in that hidden Aperture facility, a quiet alliance formed: a boy, a fox, and a machine born of a long-dead civilization. Together, they would carve a future out of the broken remnants of the past. The whir of machinery and the hum of hidden reactors serenaded Naruto as he stepped through the door, ready to face whatever tests GLaDOS had prepared. In the silence of the night, as Konoha slept in ignorance, a new legend began its slow, deliberate formation in the shadows.

End of Chapter 1

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